Renée: “We know what we’re facing”

We’re no strangers to Paris FC ahead of our trip to France to play them in the UEFA Women’s Champions League on Wednesday.

Our Gunners hosted Sandrine Soubeyrand’s side in pre-season at Meadow Park, a match we won 1-0 thanks to Olivia Smith’s 91st-minute strike.

Asked if that match will help us prepare for this week’s test during a time when we have a short turnaround between matches, Renée Slegers said in her pre-match press conference: “It's a short turnaround, we had a really sharp session on the pitch today which was really positive and I think having played them, of course, from a workload perspective and preparation perspective, it's that game you look at but the opposition will do that as well.

“So I think that's equal in that sense but we know what we're facing tomorrow, we clearly know what we want to try to do against them tomorrow and also what they can expect and what they'll do against us.

“Of course, that was a pre-season game, both teams are trying out different things, there's a lot of changes in the game. So yeah, I think the game will be different tomorrow, it will be highly competitive so I don't think it will look similar and of course we've watched that game against Barcelona as well where they scored the first goal and they threatened with that directness which they're really strong at so that's something we'll have to manage really well tomorrow.”

Indeed, Paris were beaten 5-2 by Barcelona in their last Champions League outing, while we began the 2026/27 campaign with a late 1-0 win at home to HB Koge.

After a run of frustrating games, our head coach was asked what it is that’s giving her the belief that things are going to click.

“I see what we’re doing every single day, I see what the players are doing, the quality that they have, the investment that they show, the closeness of where we are, it’s very close,” she explained. “I think just the daily things, the daily conversations with the players, the training sessions, the meetings, everything, they’ve been amazing.

“Of course we all saw it differently at the start of the season, but like I just said, the way they’ve managed it and everyone here has been really positive, so that’s what’s given me a lot of energy and belief.”